Local Blogs

9 Years As A Local "Official"

Uploaded: Nov 17, 2012

I received this week a couple e-mails about openings for various Commissions in Palo Alto for which there have not been enough canditates.

Engagement in our community takes multiple forms I was truly disappointed to receive information that critical positions on Commissions that advise City Staff and City Council lack such an interest in our city.

After three terms on the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission, I am stepping down. While I am leaving the Commission, I intend to stay involved with things around town.

I appreciated the honor of serving the community in this capacity. I feel that I was part of a group of seven that got things done, and helped our City Council make better informed decisions.

We are blessed in Palo Alto with an outstanding Community Services Department, with which I and my fellow Commissioners spent countless hours dealing with matters that lead to Commission and to Council hearings and action. I will miss working with them.

I was naïve about local affairs before I was appointed to PARC. I was involved as a parent with my kid's stuff, as many of us are. We have many fantastic organizations that care for our community, from Little League, Soccer, Gardeners, Open Space, Youth Welfare, too many others…

I learned a great deal about the depth and breadth of what keeps Palo Alto vital. I fear that too many in this little rarefied world in which we live do not appreciate what they have.